Lengede, May 2014 - Wilhelm Stoll Maschinenfabrik GmbH, one of the leading international front end-loader manufacturers is investing 3.5m Euro in its production plant in Lengede/Broistedt, Germany. The investment is going to improve the company's operations in Lengede through increased productivity and efficiency. This step is consistent with Stoll's strategic approach: the company is planning for growth and an increase in its sales volume, from the current 75m Euro to a projected 100m Euro by 2017. Stoll is also optimizing the business and aiming for cost leadership.
“Securing the Lengede production plant is our top priority”
Since 2011 Stoll has been pursuing a well-defined restructuring process at its factory in Lengede. The company's goal is to maintain the high quality of its products made-in-Germany and to manage the business challenges resulting from international expansion and ongoing price increases for energy and wages.
“Meeting customer demands requires a reliable and flexible production system,” explains Sven Reinke, Stoll's Chief Executive Officer. The sales volumes are higher in winter and spring but are lower during the summer. Flexibility is a prerequisite for a successful business in the future.
A new production system is introduced
Stoll has already taken some major steps in optimizing its service, such as increasing flexibility, delivery performance and quality in the production process. Producing a front end-loader is now 12% more efficient than it was two years ago.
Customers value fast delivery. Stoll's target is to deliver any product within four weeks after the order is placed. In numbers, this means that Stoll currently has a 98% delivery performance record, which is 10 percentage points higher than in 2012.
The production process has been reorganized for increased efficiency. Hence a lean production system will be introduced shortly. “The goal has to be the elimination of non-essential processes and the economical and time-efficient use of capacities”, explains Sven Reinke.
Change is inevitable but in close agreement with IG Metall
Most Stoll employees have been with the company for decades and the rate of change among employees is very low. Should the number of employees be reduced, it would only happen as a last resort. One of the options would be retirement at 63 and the collective reduction of working times. “Severe job cuts will be avoided,” tells Sven Reinke.
The company's management, the works council and IG Metall favour a reduction in working hours. All employees have already been informed about the upcoming changes. The accurate and reliable exchange of information for the employees is achieved through regular work meetings and is an integral part of management policy.
“The average age in our factory is 48 and some of our employees will retire within the next years. We are reducing the number of shifts and creating opportunities for workers at every stage in their career. We will find the right solutions in cooperation with the works council and IG Metall. At the same time we are looking for engineers for product development and process engineering,” says Sven Reinke about the company's direction in the future.
Optimization and growth – the heart of the global strategy is beating in Lengede
“In order to maintain our leading position on the international market it is essential to strengthen our operations in Germany,” tells Stoll's CEO. He expects to save about 4m Euro as a result of the restructuring process. At the same time Stoll is investing further: quality, reliability and innovation of its products – aspects the company is known for worldwide.
These standards must remain high: “We have already made essential investments in new technologies, machines, jobs and work processes over the last years. There are also different projects currently running, that are especially designed to support the optimization of the production process,” adds Stoll's CEO.
Sven Reinke is a manager who sometimes takes the road less travelled: you can even find him operating the machine alongside his employees. He wants Stoll to keep its technological pioneering role and he counts on his team for that: “My wish is that the employees see the big picture, the whole process. Discovering errors is a chance for optimizing the quality of our products. What we want is not to measure quality, but to build it!” Reinke adds.
